AWAKENINGS

You are traveling in a train. The trees seen through the windows of the train are moving fast depending upon the speed of the train. The train and yourself in the train are moving, but the trees are fixed to the ground and are static without any movement by themselves. But, your movement - i.e. action of yours is being imposed on the trees, which seem to move. This is called ‘inaction in action’. Inaction of the trees has action imposed on them. In the sea, a ship, which is moving, seems to be motionless for the man at the shore. Similarly, moon is moving, but to you, it seems to be motionless. The movement of ship and moon ends up in inaction for the man who has no action. Here action is ‘action in inaction’. What is the purpose of narrating the phenomenon of  ‘inaction in action’ and ‘action in inaction’?  The above narrations are only prelude to explain the intricate meanings of one of the important stanzas in the Bhagavad Gita in Chapter...

Madam Cama had unfurled the first National Flag at the International Socialist Conference in Stuttgart (Germany) in 1907. A thousand representatives from several countries were attending. An Indian lady in a colorful sari was a rare phenomena in those days and her majestic appearance and brave and clear words made everybody think that she was a Maharani or at least a princess from a native state. She fought for freedom till the last in her own way, and helped innumerable revolutionaries with money and materials across the sea as she has settled down in London/Paris at the beginning of this century. Her life and mission make a fascinating reading, showing the important role she played in the early years of freedom struggle. Madam Cama was born on 24th September, 1861 of rich Parsi parents. Her father was Sorabji Framji Patel, a famous merchant  and man of means, had a large family. Parsis by then were in the forefront of business, education, and industry (when per...

"This flag is of Indian Independence! Behold, it is born! It has been made sacred by the blood of young Indians who sacrificed their lives. I call upon you, gentlemen to rise and salute this flag of Indian Independence. In the name of this flag, I appeal to lovers of freedom all over the world to support this flag."  -- B. Cama , Stuttgart, Germany, 1907. These were the emotional words of a frail Indian lady, with fire inside and indomitable confidence and patriotic feeling for  motherland, India. The year was 1907 and the time, 3rd week of August. The Indian independence was 40 years away, and the world was not fully aware of the burning patriotism of hundreds and thousands of young Indians who were ready to lay down their lives for the sake of freedom for their country. The British were trying their best to put down the revolutionaries by bringing in ordinances, bans and arrests for life on the basis of treason. Treason was the greatest "crime" of the Indian...

A disputed Idgah Maidan at Kittur Chennamma Circle near the old bus stand in the heart of Hubli city, and a ten-year-old case against Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Uma Bharati for attempting to hoist the national flag at the Maidan have shot Hubli into national limelight. The Idgah Maidan belonging to the Hubli -Dharwad Mahanagara Palike measures 1.12 acres. Decades ago, the Maidan was just a bus stand. After the bus stand was shifted, the area was used by fruit and vegetable vendors, besides serving as a public parking lot. Moreover, twice a year (during Ramzan and Bakrid ), the Anjuman here was allowed to use the Maidan for mass prayer ( Namaz ). In 1970, when the Anjuman sought to build a commercial complex on the Maidan , a dispute erupted. Hindu organisations argued that the “ Anjuman has been merely afforded an opportunity to hold prayers in the Maidan and not to build any structure as it was a public property.” More than 100 people filed a public inte...

Introduction In the history of struggle for Indian independence, V.D. Savarkar's place is unique. He had a firm belief that only a strong, armed revolt by Indians would liberate India from British. An extraordinary Hindu scholar (he is one who coined Indian words for telephone, photography, the parliament among others), a recklessly brave revolutionary (tried to swim a sea and escape when captured by the enemy) and fiercely patriotic leader, he uncovered the truth about Sepoy Mutiny.. His disagreements with Gandhi’s non-violent methods and Pakistan pleasing efforts appealed to a large number of Hindus who were wronged by Pakistanis and led to the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi by Nathuram Godse . Vinayak D. Savarkar (1883-1966) Scholar, Leader, Mah ä -Patriot Veer Savarkar , as he is known among his followers,   urged to build a militarily strong India. Born Leader Savarkar could be called a born rebel. He organized a Vanarsena (Monkey Bri...

One can encounter a few obscure or difficult stanzas in  the Bhagavad Gita.  The stanza in Chapter 2 – 69 is one such. The text meaning of the stanza is:“That which is night to all beings, in that the disciplined man wakes; that in which all beings wake, is night to the Atman cognizing Muni.” In simple form, it can be translated as: What is day to ordinary creatures is night to Yogi and what is night to ordinary creatures is day to Yogi. Mahabaratha declares that man’s life is like a cloth woven by black and white threads. It is akin to light and dark side of the life. There is another view. Day which is light, is akin to pleasure and night which is darkness, is akin to pain. Hence the meaning can be interpreted to convey this: What is pleasure to ordinary man, it is pain to Yogi. What is pain to ordinary man, it is pleasure to yogi. Some creatures like owl will be awake during the night unlike other creatures. Similarly amongst men, thieves will be awake during the...

Modi Government was forced by the Supreme Court to submit names of black money account holders and had revealed 627 names in a  3 - sealed envelopes to the Court. There are 3 lists in the envelopes. First list contains details of correspondence, treaties and agreements that India had signed with France and other nations. Second list contains all the 627 names. Third list contains the status report on the probe in these cases. Chief Justice of India H.L. Dattu rapped the Centre for providing a protective umbrella to foreign bank account holders and following that harsh comments, Central Government had submitted 627 names. Perhaps, the Supreme Court had not anticipated that the Central Government would comply and this was quite explicit, as the Supreme Court had admitted that it was pushed into asking for the names. But, the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice H.L. Dutta refused to even open the sealed covers and glance through the names. The sealed covers were d...